In the food marathon week, seven of Delhi’s most luxurious restaurants are offering exquisite three-course meals at a fixed price of Rs.1, 000 per person, with cuisines ranging from Japanese to Mediterranean and the foodies are surely game for it.

"There have been a lot of first-timers during this week," says Ashim Rastogi, manager of Japanese restaurant Sakura at the Metropolitan Hotel. Sakura is one of the seven participating restaurants in the food marathon week.

So, if the idea of a sumptuous feast ignites your taste buds, but a quick estimate of the post-indulgence damages stops you from heading towards that high-end restaurant, then the Delhi Restaurant Week is your culinary prayers answered!

A quick glance through the restaurant week website shows that all the seven restaurants are booked to capacity till Feb 6 and only a last minute back-out by someone can win you a berth.

"These are quite time-consuming tables as they like to go into the details of the ingredients in their sushi. They like to know the proper combinations, way of eating," says Rastogi of Sakura.The other participants are Varq at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Indian Accent at The Manor, Smoke House Grill, Olive at The Qutub, Tapas at Aman and Taipan, the Chinese rooftop restaurant at The Oberoi.

The concept, a foreign import, started in 1992 with New York leading from the front for the cause of food lovers. The restaurant week made its Indian debut in Mumbai last year and was created quite a rage amongst the food lovers.

This year the restaurant week is on a two-city trip with Mumbai as the next destination.

Some of the culinary delicacies include the magic mushroom soup of Smoke House Grill, Belgian endive, beet root and pear salad appetizers of Olive Qutub, homemade paneer lasagna with smoked eggplant, peas, goji and berry makhani of the Indian Accent.

The restaurants which are participating have been picked delicately, keeping in mind the fine balance of cuisine, service, ambience and location.